Her Knight's Quest: A Warriors of the Mist Novel Page 26

  “Cursed animal!”

  Her owner chuckled and gave her a good scratching under her chin. “Be nice. She’s the reason we can both sleep tonight instead of standing guard.”

  That much was true, but it didn’t mean Sigil trusted the beast. “Who’s going to protect us from her?”

  But even as he spoke, he tossed Shadow a large piece of raw meat he’d held back for her. After all, a hunter deserved to be rewarded for her labors. Shadow picked up her dinner with great delicacy and disappeared back into the bushes.

  He’d also put tea on to steep. After handing a cup to Murdoch, he poured one for himself. The liquid was hot enough to scald, but it cleared the trail dust from his throat.

  “How much farther, do you think?”

  Murdoch sat staring into the fire, his big hands wrapped around his mug. “Less than another day if the map was accurate.”

  He glanced over his shoulder in the direction Shadow had taken before murmuring, “It’s at times like these that it would be nice to have one of the birds for my avatar. There’s an advantage to being able to see through their eyes when you need to scout an area.”

  For the first time all day, Sigil laughed. “Are you afraid of hurting that cat’s feelings?”

  Murdoch looked embarrassed. “Not afraid exactly. But considering she provided dinner for us, I didn’t want to sound ungrateful. Besides, we’ll need her if we run into the duke’s men out here.”

  There was that. Sigil shoved another few pieces of wood into the fire and turned the meat. When he looked up, Murdoch was watching him.

  “What?”

  “Does any of this area look familiar to you?”

  “I wish it did, but it’s all strange to me.”

  He rocked back on his heels to stare at the dark outlines of the surrounding hills. “You’d think I would recognize something if I served in this area.”

  “So nothing is coming back to you?”

  “Not yet.” Sigil hated the note of pity in Murdoch’s voice. He picked up a rock and threw it as far as he could.

  “How can I know some things and not others? I know I’m a soldier and how to defend myself. I can do everyday things like riding a horse or cooking dinner over an open fire. But no matter how hard I try to remember, there’s still a gaping hole in my mind where I used to be. Everything there is simply gone as if it had been cut out with a knife.”

  “Mayhap you are trying too hard or—” Murdoch hesitated briefly as if searching for the right words. “Or maybe you don’t want to remember.”

  Enough was enough. Sigil surged to his feet, glaring down at his companion. “That’s not true! By the gods, do you think I fear facing judgment at the hands of your captain? That I’m a coward?”

  Murdoch remained seated, his pale eyes glittering up at Sigil. “I may not know your real name, Sigil, or what drove you to serve a bastard like Duke Keirthan, but you are no coward. If I had to guess, I think your former master did something to your mind. From what Lady Alina and Lady Merewen remember of that night, there was a flash like lightning when the sword penetrated that talisman you wore. Something like that would be enough to jangle anyone’s memories.”

  His calm assessment soothed Sigil’s temper. “Perhaps you are right. Let’s eat and get some sleep. According to the map, we’re close to the main road to the capital city. If so, we could encounter one of the duke’s patrols at any time now.”

  He carved up the meat and passed Murdoch his share. Shadow slipped back into camp, watching every move Sigil made. Finally, he broke off a chunk of his own dinner and tossed it to the cat. It wasn’t that he liked her any better, but as Murdoch said, she was standing guard so they could sleep.

  As he carried the food scraps some distance from their camp, a cloud drifted in front of the moon overhead, leaving him in total darkness. How appropriate.

  He listened to the night: the whisper of the breeze, the scurry of small feet in the underbrush, and the call of a hawk. All normal, but there was something else out there.

  Something that made his skin crawl, an itch that was almost familiar to him. A memory dancing back out of reach. Something to do with pain and death and power.

  He knew that much to be true. The cloud moved on, and once again the world was bathed in the cold light of the moon. A shiver ran right up his spine, as if pure evil had cast its eye in his direction as it hunted for its prey.

  If Murdoch’s friend was out there somewhere, he was in grave danger, the kind that one man wouldn’t stand a chance against. He would need help, maybe more than two men and a mountain cat could provide, but they were the only hope he had. If they didn’t reach Duncan soon, he feared Murdoch would lose one of his own.

  Sigil took off running back toward camp, yelling Murdoch’s name. So much for a night’s sleep.

  * * *

  Duncan hated to push his two charges so hard, but his instincts had been screaming at him all night and well into the day that it was imperative they keep going. Kiva had returned with a terse note from Gideon that he was sending Murdoch to meet them. Until then, the three of them were on their own.

  Duncan slowed his horse to let Lavinia catch up. From the way she sat slumped in the saddle, a good breeze would knock her off her horse’s back. He’d been riding with Sarra asleep in his arms for the past two hours or more.

  “We’ll stop when we reach the edge of those trees up ahead. If I remember correctly, there’s a stream and good grazing for the horses.”

  Lavinia sat up straighter and looked around. “Good. I’m not worried about myself, but you have to be exhausted, too. It can’t be easy riding with her like that.”

  No, it wasn’t, and he’d worried about what would happen if they did run into trouble with him encumbered with the sleeping child. He said the only thing he could.

  “It’s not much farther.”

  But he felt every step the horse took, aching from the lack of sleep and hours upon hours of maintaining a constant vigil while his two charges dozed in the saddle.

  Even when they did reach the campsite, his day wouldn’t be over. There was wood to gather, a fire to start, a meal to prepare. The list was endless. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this exhausted. Even though the Damned frequently fought long and hard, it usually didn’t leave him in such bad shape.

  “Duncan!”

  The exasperated note in Lavinia’s voice jerked him out of his reverie. “What’s wrong?”

  “Didn’t you mean to stop at the water’s edge?”

  He looked behind him to find he’d ridden straight through the stream and kept right on going. Cursing himself for a fool, he wheeled his horse back around. Mistakes like that could get all of them killed.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No apologies necessary,” Lavinia said as she dismounted. “I’m surprised either one of us is able to think at all. Let me fix a place for Sarra to sleep, and then I’ll take her from you.”

  When she had the bedroll spread out, she held up her arms to take Sarra. The little girl barely stirred as Lavinia gently lowered her to the ground and tugged a blanket up over her.

  Duncan hoped his legs would support him as he swung down out of the saddle. He’d lost feeling in them hours ago. “Loosen the cinches, but don’t unsaddle the horses.”

  Lavinia didn’t ask why, but her worried look made it clear that she understood. They both knew Keirthan wouldn’t have taken another defeat without planning an immediate retaliation. He could only hope that Josup had gotten the other sisters away from the abbey without mishap.

  “After I rest for a few minutes, I could try scrying if you think it would help.”

  It was tempting. He planned to send Kiva out scouting, but the owl could cover only so much territory. Duncan also needed the bird to watch over them while they slept.

  “Let’s wait until after we eat before deciding. I’ll gather wood and draw water while you lay out the food. We can have a fire, but keep it small. Enough to heat wate
r and our dinner. After that, we’ll need to douse it.”

  Their safety depended on not drawing any unnecessary attention to themselves. The three of them would eat, sleep a little, and then leave once the moon was high enough to light the trail for them.

  He headed into the woods to look for deadfall limbs. As he walked, he prayed to the goddess that he would be able to get Sarra and Lavinia to safety. Death was stalking them. He knew it in his warrior’s soul.

  After gathering an armload of wood, he returned to their campsite. Lavinia had been busy, too. Two more bedrolls were spread out on the ground, one on each side of Sarra’s. He understood why, but he couldn’t help but wish that he could hold Lavinia in his arms while they slept.

  She looked up just as he stepped out of the trees. “If you’ll set the wood down here, I’ll get the fire started.”

  She’d already gathered some small twigs and dried grass into a pile. But rather than using a flint to spark a flame, she held her hands palm down over the kindling. As soon as she started murmuring under her breath, a small whiff of smoke rose slowly in the air. When she repeated the same words again, louder this time, flames appeared. She continued chanting as she began feeding larger pieces of wood to the flames. In half the time it would’ve taken him, she had the fire blazing. She smiled as she set two pots near the flames to heat. For the moment, there was nothing more to be done.

  “I watered the horses, including your friend there.”

  He shot the stray horse a disgusted look. “I can’t believe he is still tagging along with us.”

  Lavinia laughed. “I think he likes you.”

  Duncan didn’t want to honor that remark with a response, but he couldn’t resist Lavinia when she was in a teasing mood. “Then he’ll have to earn his keep. No more light duty. I’ll put your saddle on him before we leave.”

  “Why not ride him yourself?”

  “Because he and Sarra’s mount haven’t been ridden as hard as my horse or yours. I want you both on the freshest mounts we have if we come under attack. If that happens, you take Sarra and run fast and hard. Don’t look back.”

  “But what about you? Won’t you be with us?”

  He changed the subject rather than answer. “The food should be hot by now. Why don’t you wake Sarra while I serve us? The sooner we eat, the sooner we can all get some sleep.”

  The darkness that settled over them as they ate had little to do with the sun going down.

  * * *

  “Duncan, wake up. It’s Sarra.”

  He opened his eyes to find Lavinia hovering over him, her pretty face stark with worry.

  “What about her?”

  Then he realized the little girl’s bed was empty. He jerked upright and looked around their camp.

  “Where did she go?”

  Lavinia pointed over toward where he’d picketed the horses. Sarra was standing nose to nose with the dappled gray. What was going on? Duncan left his bedroll behind and slowly made his way toward the horses, trying not to spook them. One wrong step was all it would take for Sarra to get seriously hurt.

  As he drew closer, he could hear her talking. Actually, not her, but that same adult voice she used when speaking her prophecies. He paused to listen.

  The deep voice carried well on the night air, making it even more disturbing than usual. “Thank you. I will warn Duncan and Lady Lavinia.”

  He pitched his voice to carry only a short distance. “Tell me what, Sarra?”

  Both she and the gelding turned in Duncan’s direction.

  “They’re coming.”

  He edged closer and then knelt down on one knee, to better converse at her level. “Who is coming?”

  Sarra patted the horse on the neck. “Some of his old herd is moving in this direction.” Then her voice deepened as the gods spoke through her again. “They aren’t far, so you must ride now. Don’t stop to gather anything but your weapons. With the gods’ grace, your friends will reach you before the duke’s men do.”

  Duncan believed her. He lurched back to his feet. “Lavinia! We ride!”

  He immediately tightened the cinch on Sarra’s mount and tossed the girl up in the saddle. By the time Lavinia joined them, he’d also secured her saddle on the big gray. He gave her a boost up.

  “Go! Lady Merewen’s keep lies to the southwest. Kiva can guide you if necessary, but I’ll be right behind you.”

  He could already hear the faint creak and jingle of mounted riders on the far side of the stream, still far enough away that their normal human senses wouldn’t pick up on the sound of Lavinia and Sarra riding away. On the other hand, if the troop was following their tracks from yesterday, there was little chance the duke’s men would pass by without seeing the scattered remains of the camp.

  Duncan handed the packhorse’s reins to Lavinia. “Turn him loose as soon as you’re out of sight. Don’t slow yourself down by holding on to him. Most likely he’ll follow you anyway.”

  Lavinia nodded and started after Sarra. Before Duncan mounted up, he paused to study their camp. There was no time to gather their things. Even if there was, he couldn’t hide the charred remains of last night’s fire.

  Or maybe he could. He flexed his fingers and remembered the tingle of the magic Lavinia had taught him.

  Her warding spell in the abbey library kept the secret collection hidden right in plain view. It was worth the risk of a few seconds to attempt the spell himself, especially if it bought Lavinia and Sarra more time to get away.

  He stepped closer to the camp and planted his feet in a wide stance. At first the words refused to come, his mind spinning too hard with all the possibilities, none of them good. He slumped his shoulders, forcing himself to relax and find that inner circle of calm deep within. Without it, he might as well be spouting gibberish.

  Finally, he pictured Lavinia’s beautiful face, her smile, the scent of her skin, the way she fit in his arms. For her, he would do this or die trying.

  Once again he chanted the spell, this time feeling the spark of magic rippling over his skin. At first, he put up a simple ward around the bedrolls and the cold ashes of the campfire. It wasn’t enough. Hiding the camp wouldn’t mean a thing if the duke’s men could immediately pick up Lavinia’s fresh tracks.

  May the Lady of the River forgive him, but he had to do more. He stared at the trees on the far side of the clearing and then slowly turned, mentally stretching the faint shimmer of energy from point to point until it encompassed more than the camp itself. He infused the spell with more power, ripping it from the ground beneath his feet and the very air that surrounded him.

  The rich spice of endless power tasted sweet in his mouth and heated his blood. If the enemy were to ride into sight right at that moment, he would throw enough power into the wards to burn them to ash.

  “Yes!” he crowed, reveling in his newfound strength. Once the enemy was dead, he would ride straight for the capital city, find Ifre Keirthan, and rip the bastard’s heart out of his chest. He deserved no less for threatening a gentlewoman like Lavinia. If Duncan could go back in time, he would teach his father the same lesson for his abuse of his wife and son.

  No one would stand against him then. In his mind’s eye, he saw himself riding forth with his friends at his side. Together they would rid the land of all evil, starting with Keirthan’s blood magic. When it came time to face judgment, he would tell the goddess how they should—

  No, what was he thinking? It was not his place to tell the Lady of the River anything.

  “Duncan, what are you about?”

  He knew that voice. It belonged to the Lady of the River, the one who owned his allegiance. Her image filled his mind and his soul with the soothing, cool ripple of her strength. He dropped to his knees as the burn of pure magic drained from his body. The woods were quiet except for the murmur of the nearby stream. If the duke’s men were nearby, he couldn’t sense them. His fear for Lavinia and Sarra coiled in his chest, stealing his breath.

  He bowe
d his head and rested his hands on his thighs as he struggled to make his lungs work.

  “I am sorry for my weakness, my lady. If you can’t find it in your heart to forgive me, I pray you will not hold my foolishness against Gideon and the others. They are not at fault.”

  “Rise, Warrior. Time to defend those you have claimed as your own is running short.”

  The Lady’s voice flowed gently through his mind. “You are forgiven this time, but only because your intentions were not selfish ones. Now draw your sword and prepare to fight. They come.”

  Chapter 28

  The low branches smacked against Lavinia as she tore through the woods, chasing after Sarra. Normally, she would have led the way, but right now it was more important that she stay between the girl and their enemy. The pounding of her heart mixed with the heavy thud of the horses’ hooves on the hard ground made it impossible for her to hear much else.

  With visibility so poor, she couldn’t even risk a look back to see if Duncan had caught up with them yet. The trees gradually thinned, giving way to open grasslands. Riding became easier but offered little in the way of cover. When Lavinia caught up with her, Sarra had slowed her horse to a fast trot. She then stood up in her stirrups and seemed to be searching in the distance for something.

  Before Lavinia could call out to ask, Sarra pointed ahead. Sure enough, two men were riding straight for them with swords drawn.

  The little girl smiled back in Lavinia’s direction. “Duncan’s friends!”

  Sarra spoke in her own voice this time, yet she sounded sure of herself. Even so, Lavinia wished Duncan were there to vouch for them. Sarra’s guides had never proven false as far as Lavinia knew, but with their lives at stake, a little caution was in order.

  It was impossible to tell if the men had spotted them yet. But then Kiva swept past her, his huge wings carrying him directly toward the two warriors. When the bigger of the two men waved at Duncan’s avatar, the owl banked around in a slow curve and came flying right toward Lavinia and Sarra. The men changed directions to ride straight at them.